Search:as if

”Dischi Spranti - vol. 2" is the second official release for the independent label Dischi Spranti. After the first volume with some of the best producers of electronic music in Salento, "vol. 2" continues its research into the local groove, by collecting six tracks mainly dedicated to the dancefloor. The watchword is 4/4, no matter if it is house, techno, acid, tribal or deep, with an ambient finale that appeases bodies and sweat. Marco Santoro, Buck, Giorgio Luceri, Mhadan aka Daniele Marzano and the two founders Max Nocco and Marco Erroi invite you to follow their disjointed dances and, as always, to get lost in Massimo Pasca’s amazing artwork. All you have to do is turn up the volume and argue with your neighbor.

”Dischi Spranti - vol. 2" is the second official release for the independent label Dischi Spranti. After the first volume with some of the best producers of electronic music in Salento, "vol. 2" continues its research into the local groove, by collecting six tracks mainly dedicated to the dancefloor. The watchword is 4/4, no matter if it is house, techno, acid, tribal or deep, with an ambient finale that appeases bodies and sweat. Marco Santoro, Buck, Giorgio Luceri, Mhadan aka Daniele Marzano and the two founders Max Nocco and Marco Erroi invite you to follow their disjointed dances and, as always, to get lost in Massimo Pasca’s amazing artwork. All you have to do is turn up the volume and argue with your neighbor.

The first in a new compilation series, "How We Walk on the Moon," was selected and supervised by the project "VINYL GOES AROUND," which operates under the concept of "redefining record culture" in the era of subscription services.

The album is themed on "quiet nights." It is not too close to healing/easy listening, but has a beautiful tension and a pure, mellow mood, and the fantastic soundscape that makes you want to listen to it under the moonlight blends into the environment.

The selection of beautiful pieces is a woven ensemble of various genres, including not only ambient and jazz, but also soul, library, and alternative, and will serve as an introduction to the pop side of ambient music, which many people find intimidating. It is a must-listen for all music fans.

In addition, the LP comes with a completely new type of obi called "ORIGAMI" supervised by "VINYL GOES AROUND". It is a special design that further deepens the worldview of the album.

The tracks included are "Harmonica and...", a 7-inch only track by Sven Wonder, an up-and-coming artist who was nominated for the Jazz category of the 2024 Swedish Grammy Awards; "Clouds" by Gigi Masin, which has been cited by Namedaruma, Nujabes, and Bjork; and "Morning Sunrise", a popular song by Weldon Irvin that has been sampled in countless songs since the 2000s. The lineup is set apart from conventional healing/ambient compilations, and will be useful for DJs as well.

This is a record that will make spending an evening with you feel incredibly luxurious, as if your mind is being freed to go on a free-spirited journey.

*****

It is an honor to be included in this compilation alongside so many other talented artists who have been an important part of my musical journey and hold a special place in my heart. - SVEN WUNDER

Hot off the press this riddim from No Ice Cream Sound sees Charlie P & Jman go truly back to back inna sound system style and pattern.

This instrumental fuses elements of both rubadub and roots. The heavy organic drums and the rattling bass line is seasoned with driving horns and a skank perfectly suited to the incredible lyricism of Jman & Charlie P. Don't sleep on this one, especially if you are after a hard copy as only a run of 300 X 45s will be up for grabs. A must have for any discerning collector.

The B side takes a delve into the depths of a true dub mix; an amalgamation of spring reverb and tape delays take this mix into a different listening space. The dub keeps true to the A side's rhythm while simultaneously entering a new realm which gives a nod to some of the great dub mixing engineers of our time.

If ever a producer could be hailed as the true heir to New York's storied house music throne, it's undoubtedly Mike Terra—and his new, seriously weighty Rhythm of Love EP on Nat Wendell's Depths imprint is a testament to that in strides.


The EP begins with the peak-time infectiousness of A1 "7th & C," setting the commanding tone for what's to come. The fittingly Big Apple-titled A2 "27th Street (Dub Mix)" follows, a rollicking shuffler whose fat kicks, stabbing synths, and snapping cymbals recall Johnick's steamier cuts. New York in the 90’s is indeed the frame of reference for this EP, and the B-side finds Terra doing what he does best: creating bumping, stomping, and uplifting must-have workouts for the floor. Whether you prefer the swarthy slapping, Todd Terry-esque groove of title track B1 "Rhythm of Love" or the conga-driven, deep-padded chunk of late-night house that is
B2 "City Got You Trippin'," a late-night jam crafted for those still standing, both tracks are bound to find their places in the record bags of DJs—and heads—worldwide.

Get your ass up and let’s get ill! Yep, that’s right it’s Krash Slaughta and Phill – more accurately, it’s Phill and Krash because it’s that way round on what you get for your cash. Actually, face it, you’ll pay by card, though you won’t be bothered as these rhymes go hard. And you know it ain’t just them fat rhymes either, KS got the beats to give you a fever. That’s Side One, Definition Of Ill, but you know there’s another on the other side still. I Ain’t Playin’ With Y’All is what that’s called, more premium hip-hop to keep you enthralled. Phill says the music inspired the lyrics – apt because the finished tracks inspired this critic. Peace, I’m out! And if you don’t get your skates on, stores will be out too – of stock that is because while this one comes in two different cover & label versions, it’s strictly limited and there will be no re-press. Don’t sleep peeps!

Get your ass up and let’s get ill! Yep, that’s right it’s Krash Slaughta and Phill – more accurately, it’s Phill and Krash because it’s that way round on what you get for your cash. Actually, face it, you’ll pay by card, though you won’t be bothered as these rhymes go hard. And you know it ain’t just them fat rhymes either, KS got the beats to give you a fever. That’s Side One, Definition Of Ill, but you know there’s another on the other side still. I Ain’t Playin’ With Y’All is what that’s called, more premium hip-hop to keep you enthralled. Phill says the music inspired the lyrics – apt because the finished tracks inspired this critic. Peace, I’m out! And if you don’t get your skates on, stores will be out too – of stock that is because while this one comes in two different cover & label versions, it’s strictly limited and there will be no re-press. Don’t sleep peeps!

Open Space is proud to present our first ever full-length LP by LA’s newest 3-man band, Puli. Some words from our dear friend Matt McDermott below:

In recent years, a cadre of musicians from the east side of Los Angeles have reestablished the city of angels as the first city of Balearica. Alex Ho’s “Move Through It” followed in the lumbering footsteps of Project Sandro’s “Blazer.” Now, there’s a new landmark for the floating west coast sound. Swirling, the first album from LA supergroup Puli.

If you’ve got your ear to the ground you know the names involved here. Drummer and producer Damon Palermo’s pedigree stretches back a good 15 years or so, starting off with dub punks Mi Ami. Phil Cho is one of the busiest DJs, musicians and advocates for the deep stuff in LA, throwing legendary hillside parties under the Third Place banner. John Jones, the preternaturally talented guitarist and electronic tinkerer, records as AV Moves, is a key member of the Suzanne Kraft and Baba Stiltz live configurations and plays in The Trilogy Tapes-affiliated act Geo Rip.

But this listing of personnel and credentials puts too fine a point on it. Puli are three close friends who go to parties, DJ and get tacos together, repairing to their Chinatown studio a few times a week and coming out with remarkably textured, idiosyncratic downtempo jams. Building off the solid foundation of their 7-inch of heavyweight dubs for Melbourne’s Constant Delay, Swirling is an exploration of new horizons in chill out.

“Ramona” acts a statement of purpose—with halftime/double-time dub-tinged rhythms, hazy yet bright synth motifs and atmospheric guitar from Jones, not terribly far from the expansive approach of Japanese dub aesthetes Pecker. “Cloudy,” meanwhile, is a sort of deconstructed and bittersweet Balearic pop featuring Cho’s ethereal vocals. “Bongo Springs” is steppers’ house not far from close LA peer Benedek or the Mood Hut crew up north.

But what truly sets this record apart is the space and layers in the production—while it’s nominally an electronic record, Puli is a band that has slowly crafted these songs in the rehearsal space. “Havana Jam” cruises along a sliding roundwound bass guitar take with dubby chords and textural guitars. Palermo’s hand drums and live percussion enmesh perfectly with icy pads on “Leech Seed Dub.” Cho is back on the mic for the gorgeous closer, “C.S.B.”, underpinned by breakbeat and trunk-rattling sub bass. Puli doesn’t sound like anyone else, and is ultimately reflective of the city itself. Listening to Swirling feels like navigating a warren of side streets in the eternal sunshine. Take the drive and dive.

RARE & PREV. UNRELEASED PSYCH-FUNK AND GARAGE ROCK !!!

Say hello to Down & Wired Vol. 7 as Perfect Toy Records unleashes yet another instalment in its long-running compilation series! Once more, the label provides a delectable selection of obscure funk and soul-influenced psychedelic and garage rock tracks to delight even hardcore collectors of both genres.

And make no mistake, there is plenty to discover among these eleven tracks. At the funkiest end of things, Function's Free Style morphs from West Coast psychedelia to country funk to swamp rock and back again in its sub-three minute length, Dandy King provide psychedelic funky-soul and The Whiz Kids take a heavy dose of funkiness with them into psych-rock territory – sample fiends watch out for the fat twenty-second drum break towards the end of the latter! Purer psychedelia can be found in the offering from Third Stone while Würzburg band Prisma provide all-out epic psych-rock carnage. And if rock carnage is your thing, you'll be feeling the dirty garage rock onslaught of The Comin' Generation and a previously unreleased cut by Synod - soon to be a 45 single on Perfect Toy. That just leaves The General Store, The Soul Society, The Vestells and another unreleased cut from The Villagers (from whom the label will be dropping more unreleased material soon!), to close the circle by adding a heavy dose of garage soul.

A worthy successor to the previous volumes, Down & Wired Vol. 7 is once again accompanied by an insert containing detailed information and photos of the bands and a download code is also included with every vinyl LP.

An album inspired by childhood culinary experiences, where memories and fiction mix in an explosive cocktail of cinema, rock & roll and psychedelia.
The album sounds rough, as if it were played live by a band, even though it is instead a one man session. The skeleton of each track is characterized by the most classic of drums, bass and guitar combos.

“Wild Boy …” is a reissue of the well-known 2016 release curated by Brian Chidester, renowned researcher and biographer of Eden Ahbez. Especially for this album, Brian wrote an interesting text about Abi’s life, which definitely became the decoration of the release.
With the new 2020 re-release, we went a little further and kept what is commonly referred to as studio cuts. It’s a few more minutes in the studio with ahbez himself, full of emotion and life. In addition, to the delight of fans, the edition includes an additional composition Nature Boy (Mantovani Orchestra).
Especially, it is worth noting the outstanding mastering prepared from practically decomposed tapes by the Grammy-nominated Jessica Thompson, which guarantees the deepest and warmth possible sound. Jessica a huge ahbez fan and we’re highly appreciated for what she has done to save his music for the future.
Eden Ahbez is definitely at the origin of psychedelic music and this release can be taken as further proof. Over the past twenty years, the iconic figure of the world’s first hippie Eden ahbez has become famous primarily for his 1948 song “Nature Boy”, praising universal love, and his amazingly solo album from the 1960s called “Eden’s Island” – one from the first concept albums in the history of music and probably the first psychedelic music album. “Wild Boy: The Lost Songs Of Eden Ahbez” deepens understanding of the origins of the psychedelic movement in the 1950s.
The disc contains a musical selection of works by Eden ahbez himself, written by him in the period after Nature Boy. The inclusion of songs such as “Palm Springs” – Ray Anthony Orchestra and “Hey Jacques” by Erta Kitt gives the listener the chance to discover for the first time the little-known recordings of world-famous artists composed by Eden ahbez. Through “Wild Boy” and “Surfer John” you can hear the author’s handling of absurd rock and exotic experimentation, as well as sweet psychedelic pop like Monterey (with Paul Horn on flute). Overall, Wild Boy: The Lost Songs Of Eden Ahbez offers an overview of the lost works of 1949-1971 with seven unpublished recordings and eight rare singles.
If in 2020 you are missing the hallucinogenic content in Eden Ahbez, it amazingly makes up for that deficiency with simple chords, expansive arrangements, and lyrics about travel, relaxation, free love, and spirituality. Thus creating the standard of psychedelic music. Eden Ahbez’s songs weren’t only fantasy and his personal philosophy was the real thing that he lived.

reviews:

“This carefully and extensively researched compilation culls covers by top notch mainstream artists juxtaposed with unreleased Eden recordings. What might sound like a mixed bag is actually more like a chronological, musical non-fiction novel about Eden Ahbez. While Eden was writing hundreds of songs and performing live and making recordings in various styles, his songs were also being picked up by popular artists like Nat King Cole and Eartha Kitt who recorded with a more polished mainstream style. There are also some early rock n roll style recordings here. Eden’s professionally recordings often end up as Novelty Pop records such as “Child of Nature” and “The Clam Man” but if you read between the lines and listen to the lyrics it is pretty eye-opening that he is singing about Eastern-religion-style and pre-hippie philosophies about being at one with the planet Earth.
All of this is explained in the lengthy liner notes inside the lp along with a few choice photos that establish Eden as a founding father of Southern California mystic/psychedelic music.” – Tiki_News
“Eden Ahbez’s life philosophy was summed up in the lyrics of his most famous song, “Nature Boy,” a 1948 hit for Nat King Cole: the song describes a “strange enchanted boy” who wanders the world in search of truth. “The greatest thing you’ll ever learn,” he concludes, “is to love and be loved in return.” Ahbez was a pre-cursor of California’s beatniks and hippies, and an exalted icon of ex-otica via his rare 1960 album Eden’s Island. Beyond “Nature Boy” and Eden’s Island, though, there were nu-merous lesser-known Ahbez record-ings. Ahbez biographer Brian Chidester has been doing an exemplary job of archiving and documenting that catalog of work. The Exotic World of Eden Ahbez (reviewed in UT#38) appeared a few years ago, gathering together 14 Ahbez-related rarities” – Ugly Things

Matching breezy, Bossa nova-tinged sophistication with softly spiralling psychedelia, Testbild! arrive in the Quindi lounge as though they've always been there. On their 12th album, Bed Stilt, the Swedish collective cast their attention back to the earlier days of their 25-year trip through sweetly mysterious pop-not-pop rendered in warm tones and shot through with surrealism. It's tricky to get a precise fix on the story and structure of Testbild! The project was spearheaded by Petter Herbertsson in his hometown of Malmö in the late 90s, although the story on their website credits the inspiration and source material to a chance meeting and unpublished manuscript from a retiring scientist. The collective's evolution since then is a tangled web of facts and fiction spun by a revolving cast of collaborators including Siri af Burén, Katja Ekman, Rikard Heberling, Douglas Holmquist, Mattias Nihlén and Petter Samuelsson. Along the way, their music has touched on chamber pop, post-punk and modern jazz with the elaborate harmonies and catchy songwriting charm of the Canterbury scene. The tracks which make up Bed Stilt were in fact track recorded in Malmö back in the mid- 00s, lying in wait for the right opportunity to be brought to light with some delicate overdubs and finishing flourishes in the here and now. The core musicians working on the record were Herbertsson and Douglas Holmquist on a similarly expansive list of vocals, guitars, bass, synths and keys, Siri af Burén on lead vocals and Mattias Nihlén on synths and additional mixing. Meanwhile Tomas Bodén - better known as Civilistjavel - lent some additional synth work as well as mastering the record. Musically, Testbild! stay true to their idiosyncratic approach on Bed Stilt with six immaculately rendered sojourns through lilting harmonies and brushed rhythms, feeling nostalgic but beguiling in equal measure. Theirs is a luxurious sound, not least on the opening strains of 'The First New Years Eve,' which purrs to life draped in silky Rhodes and chiming vibes. Behind this comfortable veneer the enigmatic lyrical themes unfurl through Herbertsson, Holmquist and af Burén's vocal harmonies like fractalized puzzles waiting to be solved. The finger-picking delicacy and languid harmonica of 'Streams' strike a pastoral mood neatly countered by the elegant slide into dislocated ambience for the track's final stretch. By contrast, 'And Her Eyes Are Red' surges with a big beat urgency which plays beautifully with the mellow jazziness of the chord sequences, boldly toying with song structure to dart down curious tangents without losing the immediate impulse of a great pop record. Somewhere in this tension between clarity and chaos we can understand the addictive charm of Testbild! - a band steeped in the considerable craft of making accomplished and unconventional music so very easy to sink into. If that doesn't make for a perfect addition to the Quindi catalogue, we don't know what does.

In May, fans were treated to the first new music from Trentemøller since 2022. A new single, "A Different Light," showcased a stunning blend of prismatic space rock and folk. For anyone wondering if it foreshadowed the release of a full-length, Dreamweaver will drop in September, on Friday the 13th.
Featuring 10 tracks that traverse Trentemøller's many musical strengths, Dreamweaver also represents an obvious artistic leap, treading new ground while retaining the overall plot. Tracks featuring vocals come courtesy of of Iceland's Disa, who has been in Trentemøller's fold since the Memoria tour.
Dreamweaver's nylon string-led opening track, and first single from the album, "A Different Light," contains many of Trentemøller's trademarks: exploring dichotomies, musical shadowplay, Nordic frigidity, and warm waves. It opens the door for the steady, hypnotic "Nightfall," with its tetherless vocal, wistful guitars, and early morning desert chill. The third track in the opening trifecta, "Dreamweavers" finds its footing with a percussive soft trot, which starts after what feels like a shortwave radio scan in search of the right chords, eventually dialing in a weightless voice. Ostensibly keeping a ruminative pace with the previous two tracks, the song and, by extension, album soon opens up as the rest of the elements drop into place with a grand, luxurious burst.
Dreamweaver is about to enter its next phase. With the hatch blown off of the portal, the noisy "I Give My Tears," driven by its glissed and fuzzy bass line, pours into the void. It's followed by its sibling, the most chaotic track on Dreamweaver, "Behind My Eyes." Arriving as a piece of noise rock pandemonium, "Behind My Eyes," can't be contained in its plush vault. A whip-crack snare and convulsing guitars smash against each other in the song's verse chamber. The tension builds, as the particles collide, pushing past the point of critical mass, kicking off the chain reaction which is the chorus. At times it harkens back to the proto-gaze tracks that gave birth to dream pop, at others it newly defines what that is. There's no time to contemplate it, though, as the song disintegrates in a microphonic feedback instant.
A respite follows with the somnambulistic pair of "Hollow" and "Empty Beaches." Then, a moment of intensity returns as the soaring textures and tribal drum bursts of "In A Storm" take control, before being taken out with the ambient slo-core of "Winter's Ghost" and "Closure." This diptych wraps up an album which certainly feels on-script for Trentemøller, but is also much more psychedelic than previous offerings.
Dreamweaver will be released on Trentemøller's own In My Room label. It is an exceedingly immersive experience, bound to release any dormant hallucinations you may be harboring.

Hello 24! Nice to have you here. 23 is so yesterday, so over the top, really. Well, we’ve been dancing the following dances recently. What about you?

What lasts a long time usually turns out well. Having admired TEE MANGO from afar for many years, our A&R Michael Mayer took heart and invited him to this year’s TOTAL. “So In Love” is in the best tradition of the KOMPAKT minimal funk of the early years. We are delighted to have this lovely Englishman on board!

REINHARD VOIGT has always placed great emphasis on loving animals. On the track with the unsurprising title “Der, der mit dem Gummiball sang (Orange)”, he lets whole hordes of different four-legged friends and poultry on the microphone. Hopefully the stench will dissipate from the studio.

When Rhenish cheerfulness meets holiday anticipation, the result is something like this Hawaiian shirt turned music called “Chee-Caruso” by JÜRGEN PAAPE. No animals were tortured for this piece either, even if it sounds like it.

We stay in the realm of fauna and turn our attention to London’s award-winning pedigree dog REX THE DOG. “Laika” is a heart-warming ode to the mongrel dog of the same name, who was the first living creature to make it from the streets of Moscow into space. She would have loved that bleep.

A little-known fact about MICHAEL MAYER is that he is one of the fastest crossword puzzle foxes on the left bank of the Rhine, always in relentless rivalry with Wolfgang Voigt, who thinks he is even faster. The big battle is yet to come. Uninvited guest with five letters? “Urian”.

As an integral part of the family, JONATHAN KASPAR is of course not to be missed. “Are You” celebrates the kind of early morning rapture that is commonplace at his new DJ venue, the brand new Cologne superclub FI. Everything is so colourful here.

SASCHA FUNKE takes a bow to one of the greats of German showbiz with the trippy electro smasher “The Heck”. Born – like DJ Koze and Barnt – in Flensburg, died in Berlin in 2018 and wore glasses. More will not be revealed.

More emotion, more love, more sing-along factor? Si, claro! ARGIA’s “Love Keeps You Running” masterfully combines groove and pop – a blend that sounds very familiar to us. She may be at home in Madrid, but there’s Cologne DNA in her somewhere. We’re sure of it.

Let’s meet the legends, the veterans! JÖRG BURGER is still in a psychedelic mood in 2024. That suits him, that’s where he needs to be, that’s where we want him to be. A parallel universe is conceivable in which such music is affectionately called Goa.

Before going to bed, the WASSERMANN reads us a fairy tale from the Arabian Nights. At the same time, we focus on a point between everything, but really everything, and absolute, stark naked nothingness. 3, 2, 1… Let go.

Hallo 24! Schön, dass du da bist. 23 ist ja sowas von gestern, geht gar nicht, echt. Also, bei uns tanzt man neuerdings die folgenden Tänze. Und bei Euch?

Was lange währt, wird meist gut. Schon seit vielen Jahren aus der Ferne TEE MANGO bewundernd, hat sich unser A&R Michael Mayer ein Herz gefasst und ihn zur diesjährigen TOTAL eingeladen. “So In Love” steht in bester Tradition des kompaktschen Minimal Funk der frühen Jahre. Wir freuen uns, den quirligen Engländer an Bord zu haben!

Tierliebe wird im Hause REINHARD VOIGT schon immer groß geschrieben. Auf dem Stück mit dem nicht weiter verwunderlichen Titel “Der, der mit dem Gummiball sang (Orange)” lässt er gleich ganze Horden verschiedenster Vierbeiner und Federvieh ans Mikro. Hoffentlich zieht der Gestank wieder aus dem Studio ab.

Wenn rheinischer Frohsinn auf Urlaubsvorfreude trifft, dann kommt so etwas wie dieses Musik gewordene Hawaiihemd namens “Chee-Caruso” von JÜRGEN PAAPE heraus. Auch für diesen Beitrag wurden garantiert keine Tiere gequält, auch wenn es allenthalben so klingt.

Wir bleiben im Reich der Fauna und wenden uns London’s preisgekröntem Rassehund REX THE DOG zu. “Laika” ist eine herzerwärmende Ode an die gleichnamige Mischlingshündin, die es von den Strassen Moskaus als erstes Lebewesen ins All geschafft hat. Den Bleep hätte sie bestimmt gemocht.

Eine wenig bekannte Tatsache über MICHAEL MAYER ist, dass er zu den schnellsten Kreuzworträtsel-Füchsen links des Rheins zählt, stets in unbarmherziger Rivalität zu Wolfgang Voigt, der sich für noch schneller hält. Der große Battle steht noch aus. Ungebetener Gast mit fünf Buchstaben? “Urian”.

Als fester Bestandteil der Familie darf natürlich auch JONATHAN KASPAR nicht fehlen. “Are You” zelebriert frühmorgendliche Entrückungszustände, wie sie in seiner neuen DJ-Wirkungsstätte, dem nigelnagelneuen Kölner Superclub FI Gang und Gäbe sind. Alles so schön bunt hier.

SASCHA FUNKE verneigt sich mit dem trippy Electrosmasher “The Heck” vor einem der ganz Großen des deutschen Showbiz. Geboren – wie DJ Koze und Barnt – in Flensburg, gestorben 2018 in Berlin, Brillenträger. Mehr wird nicht verraten.

Mehr Gefühl, mehr Liebe, mehr Mitsing-Faktor? Si, claro! ARGIA’s “Love Keeps You Running” vereint meisterlich Groove und Pop – eine Melange, die uns durchaus bekannt vorkommt. Sie mag zwar in Madrid zuhause sein, aber irgendwo steckt in ihr eine Kölsche. Da sind wir uns sicher.

Auf zu den Legenden, den Urgesteinen! JÖRG BURGER zeigt sich auch in 2024 in einem psychedelischen Mood. Das steht ihm, da muss er hin, da wollen wir ihn haben. Es ist ein Paralleluniversum denkbar, in dem solche Musik liebevoll Goa genannt wird.

Der WASSERMANN liest uns vor dem Schlafengehen noch ein Märchen aus Tausendundeine Nacht vor. Wir fokussieren uns gleichzeitig auf einen Punkt zwischen allem, aber auch wirklich allem und dem absoluten, splitterfasernackten Nichts. 3, 2, 1… Loslassen

Soela is the DJ and production alias of Elina Shorokhova, a Russia-born Berlin-based experienced pianist and vocalist who has made a hugely impactful transition into electronic music. Having released material on such labels as Kompakt, Dial, Shall Not Fade, Lost Palms, E-Beamz, Red Ember Records, Sushitech, and others, Soela joins the ranks of Scissor & Thread for this exquisite album - Dark Portrait.
The album opens in a typically understated manner with Unsuitable - a melancholic trip-hop adjacent track that sets the tone for the next 8 pieces. As Soela explains, “I was dealing with some very complex feelings, so I came up with this album, which helped me not to despair, to work on myself, to grow internally, and to start listening to myself. It helped me to keep sane when my country invaded Ukraine with a full scale war. It absolutely broke my heart, and music was one of my main salvations.”
This complex mix of emotions plays out across the album with tracks that utilize her beautiful musicality (Through the Windows feat. Francis Harris and Philipp Priebe, Drowning feat. Module One) and ear for details with skittering beats, ambient soundscapes (Spirits, Lost In The Fog) and lose-yourself dancefloor moments such as the collaboration with Lawrence on February Is Not Going To Be Forever. The title track Dark Portrait combines dubby elements with affecting pads and melodic touches, while the lead single Even If I Ask You Stay delves into multiple feelings around escaping toxic situations, and battling depression. It features a powerful vocal from Soela supported by a deeply affecting arrangement. The closing track The Darkest Hour Before Sunrise brings a sense of hope and light, balancing subdued keys and strings with ethereal tones and atmospheres

Marking 20 years of Logistics' seminal drum & bass anthem 'Together'.

The track originally appeared on the classic double pack ‘The Future

Sound Of Cambridge’ back in the heady days of 2004.
Hospital Records are set to release a celebratory repress of this absolute anthem of a track, I sold a lot of this one ‘back in the day’ and rightly so!

It’s now paired with the one of his most renowned underground belters 'Krusty Bass Rinser' on the B-side, that was originally released as the B-side to Blackout in 2006. Most definitely one for the ‘bass face’ crew if ever there was one! Grab yourself a piece of history right here!

An excellent package from Hospital, do not sleep on this one!

Brixton based polymath Simon Jefferis has been setting mouths ajar with his expertly crafted, atmosphere-heavy beats over the past few years. With his reputation as both a talented instrumentalist, and adaptive producer steadily circulating through the city’s hip-hop undercurrents, 2020 sees Jefferis return to rising label DeepMatter with his debut LP Vibrations.

From the golden era energies of ‘Back 2 Ours’ featuring Austin’s Abhi The Nomad, through to the silky-smooth melodies of ‘White Rabbit’ (featuring the incredible Rosie Lowe on vocals) and shoulder swaying rhythms of ‘Something In The Water’, ‘Vibrations’ is an expertly crafted production masterclass from start to finish. With ease, Jefferis demonstrates the breadth of his musical capabilities, turning his hand to guitar, keys, drums and bass (with a little help from his friends along the way) with incredible results. Head nod inducing beats, jazz infused keys and interweaving make this a standout record amongst the already sonically rich London jazz scene.

Raining Heart is a studio project originally created by the German musicians Peter Heckmann and Tobias Freund in 1986 in Frankfurt. Very much in the same vein as Art of Noise with its studio sound experimentalism, but with a Kraut edge to it. If there was one track that could be played for everyone at the G20 Summit whilst on LSD in hopes of achieving world peace, it might be “Raining Heart”, the first track on this EP, it’s just one of those tracks that makes you wonder what these people were eating for breakfast at the time. Nothing technically mind blowing, just crafted to perfection in terms of all the elements coming together in therapeutic beauty, (also clearly exposing Peter’s relationship with theatrical production). A downtempo chugger with the dreamiest of sounds, effortlessly transporting the listener to another dimension, the vocals are unthinkable, by Yucca Rose, an East Javanese Jazz singer, almost as if she was broadcasting from a radio station in a parallel universe. “Alien Beat” takes a more aggressive turn into some kind of neo rock direction generously decorated with a wide range of studio tricks that might have been ground breaking at the time. B-side offers two new remixes by Castro, a “K-hole Collage” version of “Raining Heart” taking the original theme to another dubbed out realm, and a “Bonus Beat” extension of “Alien Beat” that dissects the key elements of the original track in efforts to develop a more dancefloor oriented DJ tool. Remastered with original artwork.

Ruby Red - Transparent - Galaxy effect vinyl in dub style jacket (jacket sleeve with center hole cut out so label of LP shows through) a black paper inner sleeve and poly bag.

PART ONE’ METAL HAMMER - 8/10 review. FOR FANS OF : Lustmord, Om, Sunn O))) . “An exercise in freeform ambience, ritualistic repetition and the rapturous, womb-like power of bass…strange and affecting. We remain lucky to share in the great man’s vision.”


At its heart, music has always been a questioning of inheritance – a dialogue with predecessors and forebears, the forging of one’s own perspective in relation to what has come before, and for some, a plunge into the boundless realms between. For Steve Von Till, that process has always taken on an added dimension to become the most sacred of tasks. Whether through the apocalyptic uprising of Neurosis, the sonic deconstructions of their sister project, Tribes of Neurot, the invocatory intimacy of his eponymous solo albums or his instrumental psychedelic reveries in the guise of Harvestman, that dialogue has never just been with musical influences, but with what underpins them: the primordial, elemental forces now banished to the peripheries of our contemporary consciousness, yet still broadcasting a signal for all who will listen.
Drawn to the megaliths, ruins and ancient sites mapped out along the British and European mainland’s geographical and psychic landscapes, the folklore and apocrypha forever resurfacing as portals from a rational world, “Triptych” is a meditation forged from traces and residues, and an hallucinatory recollection of artists who have tapped into that enduring otherworldliness embedded within us all. It’s a dream diary narrating a passage through Summer Isle where Flying Saucer Attack are wafting out of a window, a distant Fairport Convention are being remixed by dub master Adrian Sherwood, celestial scanners Tangerine Dream are trying to drown out Bert Jansch and Hawkwind are playing Steeleye Span covers, all prised out of time yet bound to its singularity.
Woven together from home studio recordings that span two decades, this latest outing as Harvestman finds parallels with nature’s cycles not just in its release dates but in the repeated structure that binds each album, like an imprint refracted through three separate strata. As with April’s “Part One” and the forthcoming “Part Three”, “Part Two”, starts on a collaboration with Om bassist and long-term friend of Steve’s, Al Cisneros, with a dub take opening the B-Side. Here, the opening track, “The Hag Of Beara Vs The Poet”’s languid, tribal groove expands into a chromatic wash, like an endless drip of oil spreading out under a midsummer haze.
A filtering of the alpha-state travelogues of its predecessor, “Part Two” reaches even deeper into primal yet pristine states. It journeys from the undulating drone and slow-thawing wonder of “The Falconer”, as if the Myst soundtrack were being broadcast from outer space, through “Damascus”’s perpetual-motion, dreamtime bazaar and “Vapour Phase”s seismograph frequencies measuring supernatural tremors to “The Unjust Incarceration”s distorted bagpipes, sounding a noise-frayed lament
If “Triptych” is a multi- and extra-sensory experience, it extends to the remarkable glyph-style artwork of Henry Hablak, a map of correspondences from a long-forgotten ancient and advanced civilization. As with “Triptych” itself, it’s an echo from another time, an act of binding, a guide to be endlessly reinterpreted, and a signpost to the sacred that might not indicate where to look, but how.

Prolific visionary Yetsuby makes her debut on all my thoughts with a celestial concept LP that chimes into the deeper, inner emotions.

Yetsuby is the solo project of South Koren artist Yejin Jang. Since 2019 she has carved out a reputation as
something of a prolific visionary, with 6 albums, 7 EPsand a flurry of singles between her two projects to date. Her recent album “My Star, My Planet Earth” received the “best electronic album of 2023" award at the KoreanMusic Awards.

Beyond her solo work Jang is also one half of the critically acclaimed electronic duo Salamanda, which has been featured in Pitchfork, Crack Magazine, and Dj Mag. The duo also host a residency called “shadow dance” on NTS radio. Yetsuby’s debut release on Seb Wilblood’s all my thoughts label is a heartfelt and forward thinking mini LP.

Yetsuby’s debut release on Seb Wilblood’s all my thoughts label is a heartfelt and forward thinking mini LP.
The 6 track release effortlessly chimes into the deeper, inner emotions whilst providing a window into her
abundant breadth of skills through tantalising themes of sonic alchemy.

“I want to put comfort into the music and give some message to people who blame themselves” - Yetsuby

The resulting effect is a release that feels sincere and deeply personal but has a celestial magic about it that feels both kaleidoscopic and transcendent. It effectively creates a world for the listener to inhabit, whilst inviting them to connect with the album’s themes on a personal level.

Make The Ting is a project born out of my writing on creativity that lives online as post it style notes known as the ‘Yellow Squares’ found across Instagram and Twitter. The first square was posted on July 31st 2021, as covid-19 restrictions were lifting in the UK and I was thinking about what the music scenes and wider creative communities are after 18 months of lockdown. The idea’s developed into lectures presenting them in real life, but the platform felt right to explore my own creativity more broadly to challenge my own ideas in real time. My history as a DJ, Label Owner and Promoter in the Grime scene wasn’t at the forefront of these ideas, but I wanted to reconnect back to the ecosystem that inspired and gave me a creative career in the first place. Blay Vision’s ‘Cammy Riddim’ in the summer of 2022 inspired an idea to translate the ideas in the squares into song form. I approached Grime MC Jammz about the idea, and the first song ‘Yellow Square’ was done with the core principles that I had written about so far. 6 months passed, and while on a Muay Thai retreat in Thailand in February 2023 I thought about expanding the musical side of the Yellow Squares further. I text Jammz about turning this idea into an album, that we make as quickly as possible using my writing as a guide, and his voice and creativity to turn them into songs. We gave ourselves two weeks, set up a shared notes in iPhone did two zoom meetings, one phone call, exchanged messages on iMessage and he wrote 7 songs in a week, then recorded them all in one day at Ten 87 Studios in Tottenham, London. Jammz wrote all of the songs to one of his own beats, then we selected the final instrumentals we liked that we thought fit the ideas from both our camps the day before recording. The speed forced our hands creatively and it would have been a completely different project if we worked on it for months. Time is the creative director. Albums don’t have to be blockbuster projects with big budgets and huge campaigns behind them. Albums are just collections of ideas. Removing the pressure of trying to make a perfect one meant it got done and released with the least stress possible. Even the business of the album took 5 mins to handle. An equal revenue split on each song between me, Jammz, and the producer. Everyone gets paid quarterly into their own account automatically by our distributor. On announcement of the album in March 2023, we released the acapellas, for people to do their own versions, before most of the original songs had been heard by anyone. We encouraged people to Remix The Ting, and I did custom artwork for everyone that sent me a complete remix before the album came out on the 30th June 2023. The front covers are drawn individually by me. I wanted to make the record an extension of what I do with the yellow squares themselves and capture the energy of where my head is at in 2023. If it’s blank, it’s space for you to draw your own yellow square. Maybe what you think about the album, what it’s inspired for you, or just a snapshot of where your creative brain is at on the day you are picking up this record. This could be the first of many albums, this could be a one off. Nobody knows what is going to happen next. It all may make sense in the end – Elijah

Benny Howell (aka DJ Subaru) is a UK based producer, DJ and overall promoter of good times who's undoubtedly propelling a new generation of music appreciation with an honourable respect for the earlier beginnings of club culture. Benny Howell might also be the pioneer of a new post-Brexit Eurodance genre, with "Surrender", a catchy Pop oriented production with strong influences from Italodisco and HiNRG, written and produced entirely from scratch with best friend Bella Quirin who co-wrote the lyrics after a break up with her ex. Innocent and charming lyrics over 120's BPM drum machine and a simple melody that you'll be humming in the back of your mind for days to come. Equipped with a Yamaha TX81Z, a few guitar pedals and a makeshift bedroom studio, "Surrender" is the product of a dear friendship between the two music lovers, as per Benny's recount: "Bella came and sung on the track in my bedroom during one of the gaps between Covid lockdowns after I asked her at the pub if she knew any singers and said me of course, and we went from just friends to best friends."
The remix on the B-side by Castro takes a darker turn into what almost sounds like a Techno version with heavy dubbed out effects taking the "Surrender" theme through an unhinged Ketamine flanger vortex. Full cover artwork and mastered at Manmade mastering in Berlin.

Resonance is one of the most powerful forces this world has,
simply because there is no way to stop it. A drop of
condensed water separates itself from the concrete ceiling.
Propelled only by its own weight, it plummets down towards
a cacophony of naked bodies and §ailing arms to shatter on
a the forehead of an ecstatic dancer. And while all this is
happening, a voice resonates through the entire room,
making the walls shake and the crowd lose themselves even
further : “Move Your Body, Move Your Soul”. Narciss emerges
from a grimey basement in Berlin to bring us two heavy
utility dance§oor cuts on Actions Speak Louder Than Words,
his ¦rst Solo EP on Seelen. The title track is truly something
to behold. With a breakneck tempo, hard hitting percussions
and a legendary house vocal, it wields an absolutely
hypnotizing power that, before you know it, will make
everyone in attendance grind and juke till the early morning
hours. There is a palpapable vibe of mid 90s Detroit-Techno
but still it manages to cut out an identity for its own, with
razor sharp sound-design and a very uplifting attitude for its
genre. And while the tracks arrangement and sound-design is
very minimal, it is on Brennpunkt that Narciss really §exes
his trademark way of building tension with remarkably few
elements. Everything here is stripped down to its most
functional core. The synth-lead is simple yet menacing, the
kick-drum hits like a boxer, and you can be pretty sure that
the hihats will leave burns if you get too close to the record.
As is custom on this label, the B-side is dedicated to thereconstructive efforts of friends or family. This time the
mastermind of Manhigh and Grounded Theory, Mr. Henning
Baer, and Seelen’s very own Shaleen have both let their
actions speak. Henning Baer has taken on the title track in
his Remix and has transformed it into a true vintage electro
cut. A distorted synth and pad add heavy grit to the original’s
vocal, and the warehouse sized kickdrum will knock anyone
unprepared off their feet. Meanwhile Shaleen’s reinterpretation of Brennpunkt strips it down even further,
swirling the original’s elements into a groovy maelstrom.
This version rumbles, clicks and sneers, with sampled voices
from a Shakespeare play giving the whole ordeal a truly
macabre feeling. This is a tool for only the most darkest of
warehouses when the night is at its peak. So now, to
summarize this record : it is a call to action. And because of
this, it continues to resonate, even when the last track has
been played. And a resonance can never be stopped.

2024 Repress

Mariah was a Japanese outfit in the field of art pop, way back in the very late 70s and early 80s with 5 albums up their score from 1980 to 1983. The album from 1979 entitled as “Mariah” was actually made before the band Mariah was formed, and was released as a solo album by Yasuaki Shimizu. The album at hand is the fifth and for the time being last album in this row, released as a double vinyl back in 1983. Original copies, that are at least in very good condition, are hard to find. The brand new reissue on Everland, unlike the original and the first vinyl reissue from 2015, comes housed in a thick and artfully designed gatefold sleeve with OBI, which finally does justice to the progressive spirit of the music you will find here.

The musical basement of Utakata No Hibi is a fusion of dreamy synthesizer pop and haunting new wave music, that could be found all around the globe back in 1983. In the vein of TEARS FOR FEARS or more adventurous DAVID BOWIE stuff, with a touch of KRAFTWERK or even BRIAN ENO here and there, but all this gets spiced up with an atmosphere of Japanese traditionalism, with a few bits and pieces from the old music from this Far East island, which sounds so magic to us Westeners. The progressive, wacky art pop of this project was led by the popular Japanese composer and musician Yasuaki Shimizu, a relentlessly exploratory saxophonist who even dared to rework Johann Sebastian Bach’s cello suites for saxophone.

As brilliant as this man is, the music on „Utakata No Hibi“ turns out to be. And the master himself approved and much appreciated the brandnew remastering of this album by assisting a highly professional team of sound engineers who dusted off the ancient tape reels. For certain the record sounds and feels 80s through and through, electronic to the very rhythmical bone of each song sugar coated with catchy melodies that resemble Japanese classic and Enka music, which is a kind of folksy pop music. The listener gets directly drawn into a feverish dream of steaming Far Eastern cities and their darkest and most depraved corners where you find everything cheap in sleazy bars and unlighted backyards and alleys. The next moment he strolls through a beautiful Japanese park surrounded by a sea of blossoms. This change in mood and style you will experience in the sparsely instrumented tune „Shisen“, which indeed comes closest to classic Japanese folk tunes without any too catchy and pop oriented melodies. But we certainly find these harmonies allover the album. Some tunes even feel like ancient BEACH BOYS compositions and Brian Wilson creations played by a then contemporary electronic pop act and sung in Japanese.

An amazingly colorful album with songs that are based on solid substance rather than cheap pop structures. This is music for the bold listeners and music lovers and this awesome reissue should quickly find it’s way into the record collections of 80s synth and art pop aficionadoes.

Yasuaki Shimizu did what he wanted with MARIAH, pushed the borders of popular music further than anybody would have thought. Listen to a track like „Shonen“ with a repetitive rhythm pattern that hypnotizes you and somehow silky melodylines by saxophone and synth piano upon which a female voice sings in a very spiritual way. Praising pop or whatever this can be called, it is sheer magic put in music. I wonder if this would have made it into the charts back then, but you never know. It is a piece of musical art that shall be listened to.

Garage powerhouse Zed Bias is back with more old school garage brilliance with the new single 'Shell Them Again' featuring the vocals of Yung Saber and Brakeman. The original has plenty of retro signifiers from the low-end wobble to the withering synth effects, plus crisp hits and jostling drums. After the dub mix comes a remix from Zed himself alongside Safire which is much more dirty and raw. The beats are broken up so the track takes on a dubstep quality as the low-end oscillations bring the weight and drums hit with more force. Finally, the acappella closes out this fresh 12" on IFG.

THE WORLD'S FIRST EVER 'LIVE-TO-DIGITAL' ALBUM RECORDING, RELEASED IN 1979.
This album - dedicated to Einstein on his centenary - is now viewed by fans as one of the highpoints of Giorgio's career.

Cash Box magazine named Moroder as Producer of the Year on the basis of this album. American music trade paper Record World rated 'E=MC2' as 'unquestionably Giorgio's most accessible work'.

Giorgio rode the disco tidal wave of the Bee Gees in the 1970s and went on to become a legendary producer, performer and composer. In 2013, he was once again at the forefront of a major comeback, through his work with award winning act Daft Punk, and his high profile continues to date.

2024 repress

“The doors are where the windows should be, and the windows are where the doors should be”. If you had been in one of the more open minded all night raves in the early 90s you are likely more than familiar with Earth Leakage Trip’s ‘No Idea’.

You could write several pages about the 'Psychotronic EP' and still not nail it as well as Discogs user covert_operative's description of 'urban, British psychedelic music.' The Acid House narrative is all about ecstasy, but for many, especially outside of London, there was a lot of LSD involved. Things were edgier, too, with parties in derelict, liminal spaces. By the time this record came out in 1991, the rave was properly diverging from its house music beginnings.

The Psychotronic EP was the first release on the legendary Moving Shadow label. Its lead track 'No Idea' is both the perfect entry point to the catalogue and something of an outlier. Neil Sanford had been writing music for a few years before playing some demos to Rob Playford in his car outside a nightclub in Wood Green. Simon Carter got involved, and the pair went to Playford's studio to manifest the madness they'd been sketching with rudimentary gear.

'No Idea's use of samples was wholly inspired and far more surreal than so many of the dark-side tracks that were to follow it. A friend of Neil's had given him a record called 'Happy Monsters' and the lead track, 'Adventures in the Land of Ooog,' lent the unforgettable children's vocals. Neil initially had his doubts. Had they gone too far? However, while working on the track, Rob Playford's girlfriend ran in shouting, "you HAVE to use that!" And so it came to be.

As a footnote, the track did prove to be strong medicine, with at least one documented account of a promoter having to be talked down by his friends after hearing it when psychedelically altered.

The Psychotronic EP is a truly visionary piece of work, standing poised on the edge of the rave's burgeoning future and entirely outside it. As such, it's never not been a cool record, as appealing to lysergic adventurers as it is to house heads, hardcore ravers, or experimental music pioneers. And it has now been lovingly reissued by Blank Mind, for which I'm eternally grateful, seeing as my copy is battered beyond belief.


Written by Piers Harrison

Remastered by Graeme at the Exchange

Licensed with permission from Moving Shadow

Played by Autechre, Colin Dale, Colin Faver, Orbital

When all you want to do is be the fire part of fire… say it to yourself and then say it again. Repeat it like a mantra. It’s what UTO did.

Anyone familiar with the UTO’s lauded 2022 debut Touch The Lock, which Pitchfork praised for its “prismatic synth pop”, will be aware of the variegated nature of what they do. This album is just as colourful, with Neysa’s vocalwork sparking similarities to Kim Gordon’s off-kilter vocals, which they both ceremoniously jets through a post-electronica blender mixing stylized indie sleaze productions with 90s breakbeats.

While they might appear as a singular entity to others, UTO wrote large sections of this album apart, converging by the fireside to discuss the day’s work before coming together to hone and finish the songs. 2023 was, by their own admission, a difficult year, and that’s reflected in the Dantean themes expressed in songs such as the lead single ‘Zombie’, which arrived at the end of November as a taster for the new record; the latter’s dark heart is belied by the skittering beats, glitchy electronics and pummeling sequencers that elevate it from the void.

From fire, early man’s discovery, to AI, humanity’s next great adventure - with all of the wonders and complexities of human relationships in between - When all you want to do is be the fire part of fire really is about life, the universe and everything. Just remember, be the flame, not the moth.

Death Is Not The End together all three LP volumes of the critically acclaimed If I Had a Pair of Wings LP compilation series for a bundled edition.

"...all of the music on this compilation is the result of the forward-thinking artists and producers that realised the worth of local Jamaican artistry during a time when the island's leading political figures had not yet managed to throw off the colonial yolk. These are sounds with a certain innocence and the optimistic promise of better to come, with the influence of American pop ballads and doo-wop looming large, yet already pointing to the innovations of the future. Listen keenly and take in the sounds of the Jamaican music industry at its very beginnings, its singers and players drawing from the popular styles of the island's larger neighbour and already changing those styles into something their own." - David Katz

Lauren Laverne's comp of the week on BBC Radio 6 Music w/c 11th Jan.

Multi-award-winning singer-songwriter and leading UK jazz vocalist Zara McFarlane releases Sweet Whispers – Celebrating Sarah Vaughan on 14th June. The album honours the jazz great who inspired her on her own artistic journey and whose centenary year is marked in 2024.

‘Sweet Whispers’ is more than a run-through of some of Vaughan’s most popular songs. It’s not hard to imagine the immense task in selecting those songs, after all, Vaughan’s recording career spanned 50 years notching up almost 60 albums (plus nearly 30 again in compilations and box sets). Through a thoughtfully chosen selection of songs, formed across months in collaboration with producer, and the album’s clarinettist and saxman, Giacomo Smith – Zara journeys through the musical life of Sarah Vaughan, from her first to last recording, bringing to life and breathing new life into some of her best and less familiar songs. But importantly, the songs that mean the most to Zara.

Zara McFarlane said “It was when I started to listen to Sarah Vaughan that I really began to appreciate jazz vocals. She had such control across her range and a vocal command that was cheeky, playful and fun yet sophisticated and articulate. I really wanted to pay homage to her as I feel she has been somewhat overlooked amongst the jazz singers. Although I do love Ella and Billie, it's all about Sarah for me.”

‘Sweet Whispers – Celebrating Sarah Vaughan’ was recorded analogue at Durham Studios, London. Giacomo assembled a stellar cast of musicians - Joe Webb on piano, Ferg Ireland on double bass, Jas Kayser on drums, Marlon Hibbert on Steel Pan and Gabriella Swallow on cello – to record 11 tracks live to tape; with minimal overdubs, the recording has retained a live, vintage feel. A celebration of Sarah Vaughan could be in no better hands than that of Zara McFarlane, who makes an inspired homage to the ‘Divine One’. Beautifully performed in Zara’s own inimitable style, with her own playful swoops and slides, she has added her own
touch to the music. With a silken voice and timbre that bring emotional depth, attitude and personality to this collection of SaraH Vaughan songs, this is a masterful celebration

A holy grail for fans of French boogie, early hip hop, Arabic funk and Balearic bops,"Ettika" has been seriously sought after since Vidal Benjamin found it in the 1€ bin back in 2006. Teasing the ears of the underground via Vidal's 'Balearic Nightmare' mix for Noncollective, copies of the original were soon snapped up completely, and the later adopters were sated by a Blackdisco edit from Alexis Le-Tan (himself gifted Vidal's second copy), which is now also rare as hen's teeth. The fervour for the track is easy to understand. Underpinned by an endlessly buoyant bass groove, chanted female vocals dart out the speakers like a post- modern mantra while synth vamps flare in stuttering stereo.

Middle-Eastern motifs add an air of mystery, but this truly belongs in a dance floor utopia. That the track was the product of a 'back-to-work' scheme aimed at unemployed immigrant youth in Rouen only adds to the appeal. Led by teacher Bernard Guégan, a quartet of students delivered lyrics in French and Arabic inspired by their rejection letters, serving a little social commentary and a lot of funk. If you're mad on Ahmed Fakroun and Shams Dinn, or even those folks in the Bush of Ghosts, then this is a must have for you.

Archeology isn't just about excavation, there should be interpretation too, and in this case it comes from Italian duo Hear & Now and Leeds' The Veteran Delinquents. The former furnish the 12" with two radical takes, the dreamy downtempo stroll of their French Remix - all unhurried percussion, Gilmour-riffing and coastal élan - and the peaktime pump of their Arab Remix, which transports the original vocal into a land of desert new beat and Balearic trance with a little space left for some frazzled fretwork. If you've followed their work with Claremont you know the quality on show.

The Veteran Delinquents, the collaborative vehicle of Leeds stalwarts Craig Christon and Tim Hutton, condense a lifetime of club experiences into their remix, establishing the infectious groove of the original before subverting with chugging bass and winking acid, all augmented with their own slick synth work. The original was an all time classic at Craig's Joe's Bakery nights way back when, and this new interpretation is both respectful and revolutionary.

A veteran of the great Malian orchestra, the Super Biton de Ségou, Mama Sissoko is an accomplished musician. His music traverses Mandingo, Bambara, Sarakolé, Songhai, Bobo, Peul, Malinke and Bozo traditions, all while flirting with jazz. On stage, Mama Sissoko is a purist who engages with the audience bringing his energy, urgent vocals and truly inspired guitar solos throughout the concert. ‘Live' brings together recordings from a concert given in Paris at La Villette in 1998 and takes us back to a high point in Mama Sissoko's career.

In ‘Live’, we find tracks from Mama Sissoko's second solo album 'Soleil de Minuit', which was released in 1999 by Buda Music. As on the album, the different guitars overlap without compromising the unity of the music, rendering an earthy atmosphere despite being very complex. The recording of this concert was superb. We can hear every note, every nuance, every instrument and voice in the many-layered compositions.

As on the album ‘Soleil de Minuit’, this live recording opens the session with ‘Diarabi’, followed by ‘Safiatou’. Both are up-tempo love songs in which Mama Sissoko's powerful voice sings with all of the passion that such love songs deserve over a clean rhythm driven by the percussion of several guitars. The heavy bassline of ‘Safiatou’ adds to the urgency of the song. After these two beautiful renditions, the energy continues with the guitar-driven ’Fisiriwale’ and then a surprisingly original version of Super Biton’s famous song, ‘Iri’. We are then treated to a lively version of his ‘Soleil de Minuit’, called out by the artist as a ‘salsa Africana’ with a shout out given to Cuban salsa mid-way through when he calls the song ‘El Sol de Medianoche’ in perfect Spanish.
Throughout this concert, Mama Sissoko’s deep and melodic voice seems to emanate effortlessly from his body and soul. Multiple guitars back up his signature solos adding depth to the music that harkens back to the traditional music of Mali. Perfect examples of this are given in the songs ‘Douga’, ‘Manssane’ and ‘Hommage a K’. The last song, before a rousing second version of ‘Soleil de Minuit’, is ‘Boma Ma’, a truly modern rendition of a traditional Malian hunters’ song with multiple guitars, shakers, lively djembe and an outstanding vocal duet with Toussaint Sainé, Mama Sissoko’s long time musical collaborator.

Accompanied by incredible musicians, including Toussaint Sainé, his partner in the Super Biton orchestra, "Live" plays in the timeless way of Malian music. What's more, it gives us the gift of its most direct and powerful dimension, that of live music, as if 20 years hadn't passed.

A holy grail for fans of French boogie, early hip hop, Arabic funk and Balearic bops,"Ettika" has been seriously sought after since Vidal Benjamin found it in the 1€ bin back in 2006. Teasing the ears of the underground via Vidal's 'Balearic Nightmare' mix for Noncollective, copies of the original were soon snapped up completely, and the later adopters were sated by a Blackdisco edit from Alexis Le-Tan (himself gifted Vidal's second copy), which is now also rare as hen's teeth. The fervour for the track is easy to understand.

Underpinned by an endlessly buoyant bass groove, chanted female vocals dart out the speakers like a post- modern mantra while synth vamps flare in stuttering stereo.

Middle-Eastern motifs add an air of mystery, but this truly belongs in a dance floor utopia. That the track was the product of a 'back-to-work' scheme aimed at unemployed immigrant youth in Rouen only adds to the appeal. Led by teacher Bernard Guégan, a quartet of students delivered lyrics in French and Arabic inspired by their rejection letters, serving a little social commentary and a lot of funk. If you're mad on Ahmed Fakroun and Shams Dinn, or even those folks in the Bush of Ghosts, then this is a must have for you.

2024 Repress
Alberto Pascual, also known as Ribe is a well seasoned veteran in the Spanish scene. An expert synthesist and modular weirdo, his sound palette is amazing. If you have been so fortunate to enjoy his live PA before these turbulent times, you've got the precision and hypnosis he always provides.

This release has a physical side and a digital one, with four and seven tracks respectively, including two Oscar Mulero remixes.

"Palette" opens the release, a lone kick drum squashed in reverb sets the pace on the first bars while abstract details appear randomly and a continuous sequence grows from below. The tension is kept all over the arrangement, not additional percussive elements, just the few principal elements going back and forth.

"Shapes" has a Basic Channel approach soundwise, texturized techno as its best, exploring the dark corners of sound design, and again all relaying on a linear and mental arrangement.

"Ad Infinitum" is remixed by Oscar Mulero in his first remake, transforming the formerly broken and abstract Ad Infinitum is a danceable intelligent weapon.

Original version of "Ad Infinitum" follows, providing the experimental slice of the EP. Broken rhythms, shuffled components and low rated tempos.